She
was young and innocent, all dressed in white,
She
had been up and awake all the night.
The
moment had come, for her to decide,
She
looked the picture of the bashful bride.
But
just 16, she seemed far too shy,
Her
white dress tucked up away on high.
And
next to her, the young and handsome lad,
Smiled
at her as though no doubts he had.
Not
much more, he was just 20,
But
the confident look, made it seem a-plenty.
She
stared at her ring as though it would find,
The
right answer to put in her mind.
Should
I say “ I do” or just let it pass?
If
I say” I do”, will I then say “ alas”?
She
turned again to the young boy at her side,
His
eyes were a-shouting,” decide, oh, decide”.
To
the stern man before him, when asked “Do you take…?”
He’d
answered quite well, now hers was at stake.
The
stern man, he turned, the same question to pose,
It
was now her turn, and quite simply, she froze.
There
is love in Vegas, there’s lot of allure
He
was willing to wait; he’d seen it before.
She
could not make out a face in the crowd,
Her
head was a-buzz, the silence too loud.
She
un-tensed her palm, slowly, one thru five,
The
boy now looked anxious, boy! Was she naďve?
And
finally from her dry throat, a noise, a sound,
But
the words were too soft, they plopped to the ground.
“Didn’t
hear you my dear, I do, did you say?”
“
Come on, speak up, I haven’t all day”.
Her
throat still dry and now in it a lump,
The
man touched her hand and gave it a pump.
Then
all of a sudden and out of the blue,
She
banged down her palm and shouted,” I do”.
He
smiled at her now, and dealt one anew,
The
card was a 6, bust; she was 22.
Copyright ©2003 Sundaram Srinivasan
Notes:
In the unlikely event you missed the parallel imagery the first time around, the real fun is in reading it the second time. The whole setting is that the girl, who happens to be wearing a white dress, is playing Blackjack in Las Vegas. This is her last bet and the boy is simply another gambler sitting next to her. The stern man, of course, is the dealer.